Public Meeting Transcripts

Wednesday, July 7, 1999

Transcript of Panel Fifteen

13 MR. WILSON: I'm John Wilson. I work at
14 MIT. I'm assistant professor and director of
15 foundation relations but more importantly, I'm head
16 of the Greater Boston Morehouse Alumni Association.
17 I want to make a simple point, and it is
18 less in the realm of Fleet's wallet -- that is, the
19 investment lending policies and financial services
20 and all these economic politics -- and more in the
21 realm of their heart. I want to highlight a
22 relationship that suggests that Fleet has been a
23 good citizen and will be a better citizen after the
24 merger.
25 I think most people are aware that the
0378
1 African-American male is worse off in any number of
2 social ills. And Morehouse College is the only
3 higher ed. institution devoted to educating
4 African-American males; and we, as an alumni
5 association in the greater Boston area, are trying
6 to address the problems as well.
7 Fleet has been a great partner with us in
8 generating scholarships. Every year, we have a Mo'
9 Better Gala, an annual glee club concert, and we
10 partner with Spike Lee. Fleet has been the flagship
11 organization. We also have a community agency
12 called Bridging Bridges, and Fleet has come not only
13 with their money but also with their presence.
14 So amidst all the voices, I want to be one
15 that says that Fleet can do the right thing, has
16 done the right thing, and will continue to do the
17 right thing.
18 And as I close, I ask you to support them
19 and also the Boston Bank of Commerce. I think Fleet
20 can do the right thing by them as well.
21 Thank you.
22 HEARING OFFICER SMITH: Thank you very
23 much.
24 MR. HAMILTON: Good evening. My name is
25 Sam Hamilton. I'm the executive director of the
0379
1 Hartford Economic Development Corporation and the
2 Greater Hartford Business Development Center.
3 HEDCo and GHBDC are private, local
4 development corporations which pride technical
5 assistance and loans to small business in the metro
6 Hartford area. We manage a pool of more than $20
7 million of which Fleet and BankBoston have been
8 substantial contributors to over the course of time.
9 Fleet also, and BankBoston, provided to us
10 support that makes our services -- both technical
11 assistance and loan packaging services -- free to
12 all who come forth looking to provide or to seek
13 lending opportunities within the city and the metro
14 area of Hartford.
15 During of the course of our 25-year
16 existing, both Fleet and BankBoston have been active
17 supporters of small business development with
18 respect to access to capital and technical
19 assistance to support, sustain, and grow businesses.
20 I have experienced firsthand the continuation of
21 their strong commitment during and after previous
22 mergers and acquisitions. In my opinion, I believe
23 the same will be true with this proposed merger.
24 I have found both Fleet and BankBoston to
25 be especially sensitive to the needs of the
0380
1 community. The creation of Fleet Community
2 Development Corporation, and First Community Bank
3 are prime examples of each institution's initiative
4 to provide means for greater access to the bank's
5 products.
6 In closing, in my capacity as chairman of
7 the Board of directors of the United Way of the
8 Capitol Area, Past Chairman of the Hartford
9 Neighborhood Housing Support Collaborative, and a
10 member of the local initiative support corporation
11 local advisory committee, I am also able to confirm
12 Fleet and BankBoston's involvement and support of
13 innumerable programs and activities that empower
14 people, provides comprehensive youth development,
15 enhances educational opportunity and performance,
16 strengthens families, and creates a strong healthy
17 community for all.
18 Thank you.
19 HEARING OFFICER SMITH: Thank you very
20 much.
21 MR. THOMAS: I am Henry Thomas, I am
22 president and CEO of the Urban League of
23 Springfield, Massachusetts, and former police
24 commissioner for the City of Springfield.
25 On behalf of the Urban League of
0381
1 Springfield, we are in support of the merger between
2 BankBoston and Fleet. The Urban League has enjoyed
3 a long working relationship with both banks and has
4 been an excellent -- it has been an excellent
5 experience in both cases.
6 Further, we have witnessed their work in
7 the western part of the state; and their CRA records
8 are commendable. More specifically, over the last
9 five years, the Urban League has had an opportunity
10 to work with Fleet Bank on local and regional
11 issues.
12 While serving as vice-president of the
13 national Urban League on the special assignment for
14 two years, I had privy to the extraordinary work of
15 Fleet Bank in the area of community development.
16 Through Agnes Bundy Scanlan's leadership
17 and foresight, Fleet Bank funded Urban League
18 throughout its footprint to levels over one million
19 and a half dollars. This funding was for the
20 purpose of building capacity to deliver economic and
21 work fair development -- work force development
22 services throughout the northeast region.
23 In addition, Ms. Scanlon has forged a
24 partnership with the national Urban League to
25 produce conferences aimed at improving Fleet Bank's
0382
1 understanding of multidimensional needs in the
2 marketplace and to effectively communicate their CRA
3 strategies.
4 In closing, the only caveat the Urban
5 League would offer is that whatever economic
6 business benefit accruing to these two institutions
7 should be shared with consumers to some extent.
8 Additional capacity and equity programs, mortgage
9 loan products, and philanthropic giving should all
10 be reasonable expectations resulting from this
11 merger.
12 Thank you.
13 HEARING OFFICER SMITH: Thank you very
14 much.
15 MR. SOSKIN: I'm Sol Soskin, director of
16 Procurement Technical Assistance Program, Long
17 Island Development Corporation, a not-for-profit
18 501(c)(3) membership organization in Long Island,
19 New York.
20 In business since 1980, Long Island
21 Development is a certified development company under
22 the U.S. Small Business Administration 504 Loan
23 Program, as well as the branch bank of New York Job
24 Development Authority.
25 In addition to its loan programs, Long
0383
1 Island Development Corporation is a designated
2 Department of Defense procurement technical
3 assistance center for Long Island; and Fleet has
4 been a long-time supporter of the various programs
5 of Long Island Development Corporation, has
6 partnered with allied LIDC to help small business,
7 including small disadvantaged business,
8 minority-owned and women-owned businesses.
9 Currently, the president of LIDC is John
10 Dawvy, senior vice-president of Fleet Bank.
11 Fleet Bank has been a leading first
12 mortgage lender on Long Island under the SBA 504
13 Loan Program for the past five years. With Fleet's
14 assistance, LIDC has been able to make over one
15 thousand small business loans totaling approximately
16 $350 million to Long Island companies.
17 Fleet Bank is a financial supporter for Kim
18 Technical Assistance Program which provides free
19 counseling to all small businesses -- chiefly small
20 disadvantaged, women-owned, and minority-owned
21 businesses -- to obtain and perform on government
22 and private sector contracts.
23 PTAP is supported by grants from the
24 Department of Defense matched by private sector.
25 Fleet Bank has been providing matching funds for
0384
1 PTAP since 1996.
2 Thanks to Fleet's participation, the Long
3 Island Procurement Technical Assistance Program has
4 successfully helped over 2,000 Long Island small
5 businesses obtain approximately $275 million in
6 government and other contracts.
7 In connection with the procurement program,
8 LIDC, and Fleet coventure initiative, Black Women
9 Enterprises, a New York Statewide coalition of black
10 women-owned businesses led by BWE, have partnered
11 with National Women Business Owner's Corporation to
12 help companies be certified as women-owned
13 corporations.
14 Fleet has been an active advocate for small
15 business on Long Island for many years. Fleet's
16 activities with Long Island Development Corporation
17 have been instrumental in helping LIDC become one of
18 the leading SBA 504 certified development companies
19 in the nation, as well as helping LIDC become one of
20 the most active DOD procurement technical assistance
21 program.
22 The proposed merger will bring additional
23 resources to the table which will benefit our small
24 business customers. The sheer size of the Bank of
25 Boston will amplify the financial abilities of Fleet
0385
1 Financial Corporation, which will make more products
2 and services available to our Long Island and Boston
3 small business markets.
4 HEARING OFFICER SMITH: Mr. Soskin, can you
5 wrap it up.
6 MR. SOSKIN: Thank you. And we strongly
7 urge that the Reserve Board approve this merger.
8 Thank you.
9 HEARING OFFICER SMITH: Thank you very
10 much.
11 MR. GAGLIARDI: Hello. My name is Peter
12 Gagliardi. I'm the executive director of the
13 Hampden/Hampshire Housing Partnership, a nonprofit
14 organization that is the major provider of housing
15 services in the 43 cities and towns in Hampden and
16 Hampshire County.
17 Fleet Bank and BankBoston have both been
18 significant partners in our efforts to provide
19 affordable housing and to revitalize neighborhoods
20 and communities.
21 In my written testimony, you will see a
22 list of very positive achievements in which one or
23 both of these banks have been a partner with us.
24 Perhaps premier of those is our First Home Program
25 through which over 3,000 households have been
0386
1 educated in becoming first-time home buyers, and 500
2 of those have purchased their first homes.
3 While citing very significant achievements,
4 I also want to raise a couple of cautions. We are
5 concerned as we see banks merge and become larger
6 about them becoming distant and harder to access
7 from cities the size of Springfield, the central
8 city in our region. We are hopeful that the
9 commitments that are made will ultimately be
10 committed to writings so that in the event we're
11 talking about a successor bank some day, that we
12 will be able to look back and have some benchmarks
13 by which to compare the performance.
14 Thank you very much.
15 HEARING OFFICER SMITH: Thank you.
16 MR. KUMRO: My name is Richard Kumro. I'm
17 vice-president and general counsel of the Community
18 Preservation Corporation, a nonprofit community
19 lender in New York City that serves the states of
20 New York and New Jersey. You would refer to us as a
21 lending consortium or an intermediary in all
22 likelihood.
23 We have a wonderful 25-year track record
24 that I was looking forward to regaling you with;
25 but, obviously, I won't do that now. Suffice it to
0387
1 say that our success in the last 25 years would not
2 have been possible without the support of financial
3 institutions in the New York area that have been
4 providing us with financing. And among that group,
5 which now numbers in the 80s or 90s, Fleet stands
6 out for the breadth and depth of its support of our
7 programs. When we solicit a bank to join our -- to
8 join participation in our programs, we essentially
9 require that they participate in two and then offer
10 them a bit of a smorgasbord of other programs to
11 take a look at.
12 Fleet has been doing everything. They do
13 not simply take the easy way out and provide us with
14 warehousing line of credit and participate in the
15 specialized secondary market that we ask our banks
16 to do. They have been helping us create new
17 programs. They have been providing all sorts of
18 technical assistance. And they've really just
19 supported -- they are essentially unique among our
20 large group of banks in doing everything in
21 supporting us in all of our lending areas.
22 Beyond their money, they also provide us
23 with great leadership in serving on our boards and
24 committees. We have a long-standing relationship
25 with them. They are very, very strong supporters of
0388
1 affordable housing.
2 Thank you.
3 HEARING OFFICER SMITH: Thank you.
4 MR. SIKES: Good evening. It's been a
5 beautiful day out there. If you missed it, take my
6 word for it, it's really nice out there.
7 I am Chris Sikes, and I am the executive
8 director of the Western Massachusetts Enterprise
9 Fund. We are a community development financial
10 institute making micro-enterprise and small business
11 loans throughout that vast, vast subcontinent of
12 western Massachusetts.
13 I'm here basically to say that we have had
14 an excellent working relationship with Fleet and
15 BankBoston, and that is described more fully in my
16 written testimony.
17 I would just like to highlight the fact
18 that Fleet has made significant capital and
19 operating grants to us, as well as BankBoston; and
20 they have been -- Fleet has been the underwriter of
21 our small business loan program of a $500,000 line
22 of credit.
23 Of particular note, I would like just to
24 mention Neal McBride from Fleet, Agnes Bundy Scanlan
25 of Fleet, and Martin Geitz from Fleet CDC, as well
0389
1 as Mike Glavin from BankBoston, all of whom work
2 quite closely with us to have the successful loan
3 fund that we are.
4 I would also like to say that although we
5 make fun of being this vast subcontinent in western
6 Mass., it is very critical for us when a merger
7 takes place, that we know that the bank that is
8 being merged or the merging is headquartered in
9 Massachusetts; and, therefore, we feel that this is
10 the best that -- in a merging situation that could
11 happen for us in western Mass.
12 Just two cautions if I could. One is there
13 are no divestitures scheduled for western
14 Massachusetts so that we really do hope that one
15 plus one equals two.
16 And, finally, the other caution is that --
17 or concern is that we hope that after all this is
18 over, that there is a very clear partnership
19 agreement made with the community groups because
20 their well-being is absolutely integral to our
21 well-being.
22 And I'd just also like to say many, many
23 thanks to Fleet CDC, because I really think they are
24 taking a lead in understanding what it means to
25 invest in the financial intermediaries, which I
0390
1 think is the wave of economic development in the
2 future.
3 Thank you.
4 HEARING OFFICER SMITH: Thank you.
5 MR. TOWERY: I'm Carlisle Towery, president
6 of Greater Jamaica Development Corporation in
7 Queens, New York City. Our mission is the economic
8 recovery and revitalization of that older downtown.
9 Jamaica underwent some severe economic
10 trauma in a short period of time; and since then, it
11 has advanced considerably, and a great deal of that
12 advancement I can attribute to the involvement of
13 banks and the support of banks. And, certainly,
14 Fleet has been there in the forefront. In fact,
15 our -- my conclusion says -- which I will say first
16 in the interest of time -- that for us, Fleet has
17 been a serious-committed, exceptionally good
18 corporate citizen.
19 They've provided strong and ongoing
20 leadership for our corporation itself. Two senior
21 executives from Nat West served as our chairmen.
22 They have contributed to our Board and staff's
23 activities in special events and retreats, including
24 chairing the fund-raiser. But most important, they
25 have underwritten or they have provided construction
0391
1 and permanent financing for several projects we have
2 initiated, and we have with them a very flexible
3 line of credit that's enabled us to undertake
4 numerous strategic small developments. And that's
5 an instrument that has been essentially in our
6 operations.
7 They participated in the provision of small
8 business loans through our revolving loan fund which
9 is capitalized by USEDA and by the City with its
10 community development block grant funds.
11 Just last month, two senior Fleet
12 executives hosted a working session with York
13 College which is a centerpiece of our development
14 which is going to get hooked to Kennedy Airport with
15 a new air train. We think there are economic and
16 academic opportunities, and Fleet is helping us
17 think that through.
18 Working with Fleet's people is inevitably a
19 pleasant and productive process for us. They are
20 thoroughly professional, responsive, and
21 responsible, and eager to facilitate results to get
22 things done.
23 I've learned at conferences that -- of
24 Fleet's impressive community development and
25 reinvestment roles in numerous places, and I just
0392
1 repeat for us they've been an exceptionally good
2 corporate citizen.
3 Thank you.
4 HEARING OFFICER SMITH: Thank you very
5 much.
6 MR. MORGO: Good evening. My name is Jim
7 Morgo. I'm president of the Long Island Housing
8 Partnership. I'm up from Long Island, New York, for
9 my four o'clock testify. But you folks have been --
10 you folks have been here since about eight so you
11 have my condolences. I'll now switch to 78 rpms.
12 The Long Island Housing Partnership is a
13 private, not-for-profit initiative that invests
14 private and public funds to create housing which in
15 turn spurs economic development and neighborhood
16 revitalization in low- and moderate-income
17 neighborhoods. And, yes, there are low- and
18 moderate-income neighborhoods out on Long Island out
19 to the Hamptons.
20 The Housing Partnership was the first
21 not-for-profit public private housing development
22 company based solely in the suburbs. It was our
23 nation's first. It is a consortium of fitness,
24 religious, civic, professional, and labor
25 organizations.
0393
1 The Housing Partnership has enabled more
2 than 2500 low- and moderate-income families to
3 obtain home ownership in high-priced Long Island.
4 The Housing Partnership's success is due in great
5 part to the support of private sector partners, and
6 one of our most involved partners is Fleet.
7 In 1988, Fleet was one of the founding
8 members of the Housing Partnership. Fleet has
9 cosponsored educational seminars in mortgage
10 counseling and financing for our first-time home
11 buyers. And most importantly, Fleet has made
12 investments, the kind of investments envisioned by
13 CRA in our low-income neighborhoods, in construction
14 financing both for us as a developer and for our
15 contractors, and has made inroads to our first-time
16 buys that had -- that have very flexible
17 underwriting criteria.
18 In short, Fleet has been a dedicated
19 Housing Partnership member. Fleet is a responsible
20 financial institution that is committed to community
21 service, and the Housing Partnership supports the
22 proposed merger.
23 But I am compelled to add after listening
24 to a lot of the testimony and particularly because
25 of the incredible urge to merge among financial
0394
1 institutions, that the Long Island Housing
2 Partnership certainly supports the concept of one
3 plus one has to equal more than two.
4 We have lost many members and much support
5 because of the merging of financial institutions;
6 and while we support this merger, we want to make
7 sure that the provisions of CRA are followed by
8 their intent and in their spirit.
9 Thank you very much.
10 HEARING OFFICER SMITH: Thank you.
11 MS. PHILLIPS: Good afternoon. I'm Karen
12 Phillips. I represent the -- I'm president and CEO
13 of the Abyssinian Development Corporation, a
14 comprehensive community building initiative that was
15 started by the Abyssinian Baptist Church to help the
16 revitalization of the community of Harlem. And I'm
17 here today to give you examples of our interaction
18 with Fleet and the support that they have given our
19 ten-year-old community-based organization.
20 The one that Fleet has been supportive of
21 is ADC operations. And we have seen this
22 organization -- Fleet grow with its merger with
23 other banks in the New York City market, and with
24 that, their support to ADC's operations grow.
25 One of the best examples of the stand that
0395
1 they've taken in community development is a project
2 that we currently have underway which is that
3 redevelopment, complete gut and rehabilitation of 33
4 brownstones in the Harlem community, buildings that
5 were previously owned by the City of New York and
6 vacant, and this is the first time that the City of
7 New York has embarked on housing that is market rate
8 and not subsidized.
9 We have gone to four of the major banks in
10 the New York City market, and Fleet is the one that
11 aggressively stepped up to the plate, and even
12 though the project was not perfect, have worked with
13 us to close and will now be providing the
14 construction financing as well as the end loans for
15 our buyers, houses that will bring in
16 moderate-income families who will help in our
17 community building. And these houses range in
18 prices from 325 to 450. It is a very important
19 stand that they have taken with our development and
20 other private developers. They are being a good
21 banking citizen.
22 The other is that their staff has
23 participated and served on our boards and other
24 activities in the community, and that with
25 additional resources, we think that they can do more
0396
1 in communities like Harlem where there is
2 economic-disadvantaged communities.
3 Thank you.
4 HEARING OFFICER SMITH: Thank you very
5 much.
6 MR. MORROW: We have a hook. We have this
7 beeper here.
8 My name is Phillip Morrow. I'm the
9 president of the South Bronx Overall Economic
10 Development Corporation, which is an economic
11 development, industrial development work force,
12 CEFI, all of those things.
13 Fleet has been involved with us, and we
14 have a director, Phil Grossman, who is on our Board
15 of Directors. They're involved with industrial
16 financial and commercial financing in the South
17 Bronx. They have provided us with corporate
18 support, and they have worked with us on almost
19 everything that we do.
20 And that's -- one of the things about the
21 bank in the territory of Chase and Citibank, Fleet
22 has been a major competitor and has been keeping up
23 with the major bank, with Chase having 70 percent of
24 the business in the Bronx, providing us with support
25 that's comparable to what we get from Chase
0397
1 Manhattan Bank. And I think that's laudable when we
2 consider how these banks now with their -- after
3 their mergers have provided support for
4 organizations like ours.
5 Ours is a very low-income community. We
6 need everything. And Fleet has helped us across
7 broad range of activities in which we're engaged in
8 from financing housing and commercial and industrial
9 activities to providing support for our events and
10 activities that we run in our community.
11 Thank you.
12 HEARING OFFICER SMITH: Thank you.
13 MR. MARSHALL: Good afternoon. My name is
14 Timothy Marshall, and I'm president of the Jamaica
15 Business Resource Center. And by way of background,
16 Jamaica Business Resource Center was designated in
17 1994 through presidential authorization to become
18 the national model and pilot for President Clinton's
19 One-Stop Capital Shop Small Business Program. And
20 since our inception in 1995, we have provided
21 technical assistance to over 2800 businesses,
22 secured capital financing of over $30 million, and
23 have trained over 800 businesses in the fundamentals
24 of business management. And part of this has become
25 possible because of strategic partnerships that we
0398
1 have with private sector partners, including Fleet
2 Bank which has been in a very, very key leadership
3 role.
4 First of all, let me just share a couple of
5 things. While credit scoring remains a reality
6 especially in our community, Fleet Bank has taken an
7 enlightened posture relative to understanding,
8 serving, and aggressively marketing to the small
9 business sector. And while some banks are extremely
10 reluctant to even considering start-ups or in some
11 cases, manufacturing businesses, we have had real
12 successes with Fleet especially in these areas
13 because they're willing to at least look at these
14 deals before making a determination on their
15 disposition.
16 And in my document that will come to you
17 following, I'm going to give you some specific
18 examples of businesses that Fleet Bank has helped.
19 But not only have they worked with
20 businesses. There was a very special initiative
21 that we were involved with with the Southeast Queens
22 clergy to teach churches how to engage in community
23 economic development, and there had been a West
24 Indian congregation that had been meeting in the
25 gymnasium of the YMCA for several years, and their
0399
1 dream was to have their own church and to open a day
2 care center.
3 And we went to a couple of banks, but when
4 we went to Fleet, they worked with us in providing
5 technical assistance to that congregation.
6 Ultimately, they were successful in securing a
7 $1.1 million mortgage to both house the
8 congregation, as well as to open a day care center.
9 There are many other things that I can say.
10 One of the concerns that we would like to raise, not
11 so much with Fleet, but the trend towards
12 consolidation in the banking industry does cause
13 real concerns in communities such as the ones that
14 we serve especially as it relates to the loss of
15 jobs, potentially reduced services and branches, and
16 possibly increased rates.
17 Our experience with Fleet, however, has
18 been a very strong commitment at the community
19 level, with a branch network that listens to the
20 concerns raised by the community and has been
21 responsive to those concerns in what we believe to
22 be a very fair manner.
23 So it is for these reasons that we believe
24 that Fleet will continue to be an excellent
25 corporate citizen that is concerned with the plight
0400
1 of those who are most disenfranchised in the
2 communities that we serve.
3 Thank you very much.
4 HEARING OFFICER SMITH: Thank you.
5 MR. STOKES: Good afternoon. My name is
6 Keith W. Stokes. I'm currently the executive
7 director of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce
8 in Newport, Rhode Island.
9 My testimony before you today is in strong
10 support of the prosed merger. My support is based
11 upon my many years of professional experience in
12 affordable housing community development, business
13 development, and urban planning.
14 From my personal professional viewpoint,
15 this merger represents a key opportunity for
16 advocates of community reinvestment and development
17 to create new strategic partnerships that will
18 stimulate innovation and enhance investment
19 opportunities for our urban and rural communities.
20 Some community leaders might worry that one
21 less major bank may reduce the amount of community
22 reinvestment activities in the regional marketplace.
23 It has been my personal experience that both Fleet
24 and Bank of Boston which have historically
25 demonstrated the highest level of community
0401
1 reinvestment initiative and involvement will meet
2 these needs.
3 It is also my belief that this level of
4 involvement would not only enhance -- with the
5 combined financial resources of a larger merger
6 enhance the opportunities for local community, but
7 it will also create innovative ways to meet even
8 additional needs in our most greatest communities of
9 need.
10 In closing, as you can continue to hear
11 testimony and collect information relating to the
12 merger, I ask that you seriously consider that this
13 unification of two highly-regarded banks is an
14 opportunity to not only create the strongest
15 financial institution in and for our region but a
16 means to create more community reinvestment
17 opportunities for our urban and rural communities.
18 Plainly speaking, the newly created Fleet Boston
19 will be able to increase its level of business and
20 charitable contributions throughout their northeast
21 market. This is good for business. This is good
22 for our community.
23 Thank you.
24 HEARING OFFICER SMITH: Thank you very
25 much.
0402
1 MR. POLLOCK: Good evening. My name is
2 Jeff Pollock. I'm the president of the New
3 Hampshire Business Development Corporation, and I'm
4 here to offer my strong support for the merger of
5 Fleet Financial Group and BankBoston Corp.
6 New Hampshire Business Development
7 Corporation exists to promote economic development
8 in the state by addressing underserved market
9 segments with financial services both directly and
10 in partnership with the banking community.
11 As evidenced and in light of our strong
12 commitment to the small business community, I'm very
13 pleased to note that the U.S. Small Business
14 Administration recently recognized us as the
15 Financial Services Advocate of the Year for 1999.
16 We have worked very closely with Fleet over
17 the years. They have invested in three of our
18 partnerships which have helped us stimulate over
19 $125 million of investment capital with higher risk
20 lending in New Hampshire.
21 BankBoston is a later entrant to New
22 Hampshire and was very quick to participate, as did
23 Fleet, in our new venture capital fund in hopes of
24 supporting their more direct investment strategy by
25 partnering with us in this fund.
0403
1 I'm in support of the merger because I see
2 synergy rather than redundancy in the combination of
3 these two institutions. From the community
4 development perspective, it's quite exciting to
5 envision the potential of Fleet CDC's partnership
6 model in combination with BankBoston's direct
7 investment strategy.
8 On the flip side, I believe New England
9 will suffer a tremendous loss of community
10 commitment in the event that it doesn't mean home to
11 one of the banking leaders after the industry
12 consolidates. To this end, I ask you to witness the
13 mayor of San Francisco threatening to remove City
14 funds BankAmerica after the headquarters moved to
15 Charlotte, North Carolina, and decisions became made
16 from there.
17 In closing, I want to point out that it is
18 my good fortune to serve on the Fleet Inner City
19 Advisory Board in representation of New Hampshire's
20 interests. In this regard, the bank -- I recognize
21 that the bank sees that the best interests of the
22 community are best served by helping its citizens to
23 create wealth. Some people confuse this market
24 orientation with a lack of interest in community
25 affairs.
0404
1 From my part, I share the view of renowned
2 Harvard professor Michael Porter that such an
3 approach to the market is the only sustainable means
4 of community support in a market-oriented economy.
5 This, in fact, is the philosophy with which we
6 approach our business in NHBDC. I hope will you
7 give due weight to these factors.
8 Thank you.
9 MR. CROWLEY: Hi. My name's David Crowley,
10 and I'm the executive director of a nonprofit called
11 Generations, Incorporated, that brings together
12 1,000 Boston area youth and seniors in
13 intergenerational programs each year.
14 I just want to say that at this time, when
15 government is shrinking its services, calling upon
16 nonprofits to do more in terms of human service and
17 education, and we have to turn to the private sector
18 increasingly to be able to deliver those vital
19 services, that Fleet has been a shining example of a
20 company that's really stepped up to the plate, not
21 just to provide charitable funding, which of course
22 we value and is critical to our work; but they
23 really role up their sleeves and work with
24 nonprofits like us to make sure that we can serve
25 the community effectively.
0405
1 And over the past couple of years with
2 Fleet's help, we have been able to roll out new
3 programs that they have helped us with where senior
4 citizens have helped raise kids' reading scores by
5 an average of over three grade levels a year, and
6 also provide documented impact for seniors who are
7 isolated in nursing homes who we're able to serve
8 thanks to Fleet and touch their lives at the end of
9 their day.
10 I really just appreciate Fleet's attitude
11 of really seeing holistic partnerships with
12 nonprofits and with communities to make things a
13 better place. And so I really feel it's critical
14 that we continue to have Fleet as a major player in
15 the Boston area to have that continue to happen.
16 Thanks.
17 HEARING OFFICER SMITH: Thank you very
18 much.
19 I understand our 30 minutes are up;
20 however, Mr. Herbie Flores is at the tail end of the
21 panel, so I hope you will bear with us, and if you
22 will do your one minute very quickly, each of you.
23 MS. HABIBY: My name is Anne Habiby. I'm
24 the director of research at the Initiative for
25 Competitive Inner City. ICIC is a national
0406
1 not-for-profit organization established by Harvard
2 Business School professor Michael Porter.
3 One of the most important things clearly
4 that anyone can do for the inner city is provide
5 access to capital. And as Walter Riskin says,
6 "Capital goes where it is invited and stays where it
7 is welcome."
8 BankBoston's Community Development Bank
9 under Chad Gifford and Gail Snowden's exemplary
10 leadership has proven that it is committed to this
11 premise. In fact, ICIC has been outspoken in our
12 support of BankBoston's community bank model and
13 strong inner city franchise, and often cited to the
14 media as the preeminent community bank in the
15 country.
16 Over the past year, ICIC has chronicled the
17 competitive advantage of inner cities; and, in fact,
18 in a recent study we will release, in fact, this
19 week, shows that BankBoston and Fleet have been the
20 leaders in making SBA 7A loans to inner city
21 businesses.
22 In fact, in 1996, BankBoston led all banks
23 in Boston's inner city in inner city lending; and in
24 1997, if was Fleet. Significantly, 7A lending
25 dramatically increased from 2 million to 7 million
0407
1 in 1997 and in great part due to the lending
2 practices of BankBoston and Fleet.
3 We would urge both banks to sustain and
4 extend these lending practices, lending as much as
5 possible profitably.
6 HEARING OFFICER SMITH: Thank you very
7 much.
8 MR. CHAMPAGNE: I would like to have an
9 interpreter, please.
10 HEARING OFFICER SMITH: Interpreter from
11 what?
12 MR. CHAMPAGNE: Hispanic.
13 UNIDENTIFIED AUDIENCE MEMBER: There was no
14 special request for an interpreter.
15 HEARING OFFICER SMITH: Can we -- okay.
16 See, I knew there was a purpose to this.
17 MR. CHAMPAGNE (through Hierberto Flores):
18 My name is Jose Champagne, president of Sofri El
19 Coqui. I'd like to thank you for the privilege of
20 being here to express to you the work that Fleet
21 Bank is doing in the Spanish community.
22 Everybody knows the Spanish community is
23 growing very fast. And to the year 2010, 2015, the
24 Hispanic community will be the largest minority.
25 I would like to thank Fleet for making a
0408
1 dream of mine come true. For six years, we had a
2 project or factory. In 1997, we were able to make
3 that a reality by Fleet Bank. I would like you to
4 consider this kind of project for a Spanish
5 community. It's a great potential in the Spanish
6 community, and we know that we can count on Fleet
7 Bank.
8 I would like to thank Fleet Development
9 Bank for all their support they have given us.
10 Thank you very much for the support.
11 MR. COMULADA: Good afternoon. My name is
12 Fernando Comulada. I'm vice-president for finance
13 and administration for InterAmerica Wholesalers.
14 It's a small distributor of Spanish products in
15 Waterbury, Connecticut. And until recently, I was
16 also a financial advisor for Universal Financial
17 Services in Hartford, Connecticut.
18 I'm here today to express my support for
19 this merger of Fleet Bank and Bank of Boston.
20 During my tenure with the Universal Financial
21 Services, I was able to do business planning for
22 Hispanic local business in Hartford, Connecticut;
23 and I am pleased to say -- to report to you that of
24 six projects that we presented to Fleet Bank in the
25 last year and a half, all six -- to Bank of Boston,
0409
1 all six were approved. I think there is -- they
2 have shown a sensitivity and the need to the
3 community and to economic development in the
4 neighborhoods.
5 Even those these loans were not big
6 amounts, they were significant to the business
7 people that applied for them. More significant, it
8 was a contribution that less than half a million
9 dollars in funds created over twenty jobs.
10 I want to encourage the Federal Reserve
11 Bank to approve this merger. And I just caution --
12 I would like to see that Fleet Bank and Bank of
13 Boston continue to give access of capital to
14 minorities and to small business, that they keep the
15 diversity among all ranks in the organization, and
16 to keep bicultural and bilingual lending officers.
17 Thank you.
18 HEARING OFFICER SMITH: Thank you very
19 much.
20 MR. FELLENZ: Good evening. I'm Peter
21 Fellenz, executive director of Worcester Community
22 Housing Resources. We do lending, first-time home
23 buyer services, and property development. Sometimes
24 small; sometimes larger. It is all meant to put a
25 smile back on older neighborhoods that have good
0410
1 enough history to deserve the revitalization, both
2 as individuals and as neighborhoods.
3 We work very well with the entire banking
4 community and are very proud with our relationship
5 with both Fleet and BankBoston. That goes for local
6 staff in Worcester and central Mass., and also for
7 the number of corporate people. Meeting yesterday
8 with corporate leadership included many people who
9 have walked our neighborhoods, in fact, made it
10 quite clear that their credit is available anytime
11 we can tee up the deals. So let's go ahead.
12 I feel a little bit like I've been invited
13 to two people who have decided to get married, in
14 this case, two institutions. I'm ready to be at the
15 wedding and say just stay active right here in the
16 middle of New England. We need your combined
17 assets, both human and financial.
18 So I speak strongly in favor of the merger
19 as proposed.
20 HEARING OFFICER SMITH: Thank you.
21 MR. FLORES: My name is Hierberto Flores,
22 resident of Springfield, Massachusetts, Brightwood
23 Development Corporation, and also Planning for
24 Community.
25 We have over 360 employees from Manchester,
0411
1 New Hampshire, to Fairfield County, human services.
2 We have a lot of minorities that work for us in the
3 work force. So, again, the two banks, Fleet and
4 Bank of Boston, I have done business with them, very
5 supportive to our organization, to our community.
6 I'm here to support this merger.
7 And, again, I would like to thank you for
8 the privilege of being able to be a member of your
9 Board, Federal Consumer Advisory Counsel, for the
10 past three years. And, again, I think that the work
11 you are doing today here is one work that all of us
12 as citizens have to say thank you for the work that
13 you are doing and keep up the good work.
14 HEARING OFFICER SMITH: Thank you very
15 much.
16 HEARING OFFICER SMITH: Panel 16.
17 Mr. Cofield.